196 
possesses a feeble, but characteristic, odor which serves to distinguish it 
and its oil from other similar products. It appears to dissolve in all the 
ordinary solvents excepting alcohol, although observations as to solu- 
bility are unsatisfactory because of the suspended water which is always 
present and which does not separate. When the resin is mixed with 
sesquiterpene oil and the mixture is heated at 140° in an oil bath, some 
of the water is gradually driven off, although it is necessary to heat to a 
much higher temperature in order to remove all. A clear solution is 
finally formed, but on cooling the product, because of the separation of 
a gelatinous substance, becomes semisolid. Its behavior with fatty oils is 
precisely the same. A clear solution is formed on heating to expel water, 
but a precipitation occurs on cooling. This point is important, as it 
concerns the use of the product for the manufacture of varnishes. 
Although Balao is fluid at ordinary temperatures, it hardens when 
it is treated with steam and it then becomes much too viscous for the 
latter to penetrate it. Therefore, it is impossible to remove more than a 
trace of oil by this method. The separation of the volatile products 
from the resin by distillation under reduced pressure is an impossibility 
because of an uncontrollable foaming at the beginning of the operation 
and subsequently on account of the fact that the partially dehydrated 
residue turns nearly to a solid at the temperature at which the oil passes 
over. When the resin is gradually heated in a distilling flask which is 
immersed in an oil bath, only a portion of the water is removed by the 
time the temperature of the bath has been increased to 200°. In order 
successfully to remove all of the latter it is necessary to apply a free 
flame, under which treatment the solid residue gradually melts, and the 
water, together with a considerable quantity of oil, distill. The continued 
formation of so much water at a comparatively high temperature, while, 
at the same time, a large amount of sesquiterpene is being carried over, 
seems to show that the former liquid is chemically bound in the original 
oil; however, the combination evidently is not very stable. There is no 
evidence that the water is formed by destructive distillation resulting 
from the superheating of the resin, as the distillate is nearly colorless. 
and no odors to be referred to decomposition products are noticeable. 
Oil continues to distill over on continued heating after all of the water 
has been driven off; this oil is almost colorless at first, but, as the 
temperature is increased, the distillate gradually assumes a reddish-green 
color and at 270° (vapor) there is evidence of decomposition in the 
flask. 
The process just described was the only one found to be practicable 
for the study of the resin, and accordingly it was applied to the several 
samples which were examined. In all, about 50 per cent of the original 
substance was left in the flask as a residue, the remaining 50 per cent 
consisting of water and oil, the amount of the latter ranging from 22 to 
28 per cent. This difference in the oil content may be due to variations 
